Scared Yet?
by WeasleyForMe
Summary: George will not be satisfied until Hermione has been properly frightened on Halloween. Hermione/George!


_Scared Yet? by WeasleyForMe_

_George will not be satisfied until Hermione has been properly frightened on Halloween. Hermione/George! Entry for the Twin Exchange October Title Swap challenge- story title submitted by The One and Only Ghostwriter. _

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Hermione wrapped her arms tightly around herself, hugging her jacket to keep warm. The chilly October wind caught the students of Hogwarts off guard as many of them huddled in groups, laughing and enjoying Halloween night. The Hogwarts staff really outdid the celebration this year, turning the Shrieking Shack into a haunted house. But, for Hermione, Harry and Ron, it was merely a visit back to the place they found out the truth about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.

"It looks wicked cool," Ron said, nodding toward the shack which was decorated with hundreds of pumpkins. "But it's not really scary, you know, since we've already been inside."

Harry adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Yeah, I think we ruined the surprise. Nothing too scary about some dusty floors and cobwebs," he said, earning a laugh from Hermione.

"I guess we'll just do a quick walk-through and then go back to the castle for some pumpkin pie and butterbeer?" she suggested, but was practically cut off as Harry made a beeline for Cho.

"Hermione, I'll catch up with you later," Ron muttered before being yanked away by Lavender.

"Really?" Hermione asked nobody in particular as she stood alone in the crowd of students. "Stupid boys, only one thing on their minds," she scoffed. Her two best friends would most likely be snogging those girls half the night while she pretended to have fun alone in the Shrieking Shack. "Wonderful," she growled darkly.

Hermione made her way up the gravel path and across the creaky wooden porch. She could hear the screams of her schoolmates who were already inside the shack. Slowly, she walked through the front door and was surrounded by near darkness. She could just make out a flock of enchanted bats flying around a few feet above her head. She was making her way toward the doorway at the far end of the room just as she felt someone behind her wrap their arms around her waist.

She gasped and tried to jump free, struggling against the arms. But she heard a familiar laugh, and the arms released her.

"Scared yet, Granger?"

"George, is that you?" she asked, squinting in the darkness, barely able to make out one of the Weasley twins.

"Wow, I'm impressed," he told her, confirming his identity. "But how did you know I wasn't Fred? It's almost pitch black in here."

Hermione's eyes went wide, and thankfully the darkness hid her flushed cheeks from George. How was she supposed to answer him without admitting that she'd had a crush on him for long enough to be able to tell apart the subtle differences in the twins' voices?

"Lucky guess?" she asked hesitantly.

"Very lucky," George agreed. "I'm going to see what's in the next room. Coming?" he asked, and Hermione nodded mutely and followed him.

The next room was set up to look like a graveyard, complete with dirt and tombstones. Hermione barely noticed the scene as she asked, "Hey George, where's Fred?"

George crossed his arms defensively. "How am I supposed to know? I think he brought Katie as his date tonight, but it could be Angelina or Marietta. Honestly, all you girls always want to know where Fred is!"

Hermione laughed. "I didn't mean it like that!" she insisted. "I just thought it odd that you'd rather hang out with me." If he only knew how much she thought about him and how little her mind wandered to Fred...

"Why wouldn't I want to hang out with you?" George asked with a smile. "Besides, it will be fun to watch the enchanted zombies and werewolves scare you," he said, grunting like a zombie with his arms held stiffly in front of him.

Hermione rolled her eyes and marched into the next room. "There's nothing scary in this whole house," she insisted. "Other than perhaps you," she said with a grin.

"Hey! That's not very nice!" George protested as he followed her.

"This isn't scary at all. Besides, I've been in the Shrieking Shack before, and that time it was with a real werewolf," she boasted.

"Are you honestly going to tell me that you don't think that blood covered ogre holding a meat cleaver is scary?" he asked, pointing across the room.

Hermione turned and jumped a little before she realized it was just Hagrid in a costume. "No, not one bit," she insisted, marching onward.

"Scared yet?" George asked her in room after room, as they encountered banshees, mummies, and vampires.

"No," she promised as a group of fourth year girls ran past them screaming. "Are you?"

George yawned. "No, not really. Do you reckon the teachers had to make sure they wouldn't scare the younger ones too much? I mean, this mummy is clearly made out of plastic and toilet paper," he said, tugging on some of the wrappings.

Something inside the costume grunted, and George screamed hysterically. Hermione doubled over in laughter as George made a dash for the back door.

"Scared yet, Weasley?" she asked, still giggling as she found George leaning against a tree.

"Of course not. I was just, you know, getting into the Halloween spirit," he replied with a smirk.

"Riiight," Hermione agreed sarcastically. "I just wouldn't take you for such a high pitched screamer," she added as she made her way through the groups of students and headed toward the old fence surrounding the property.

"Okay, maybe I was _a little_scared. I mean, you saw the way that mummy tried to attack me, right?" he asked, following closely behind her.

Hermione snorted.

"Come on, there has to be something that scares you," George prompted, leaning against the fence and looking up at the moon.

Hermione stood tall with her chin jutting slightly out. "I'm not afraid of anything."

George leaned in close and whispered, "Not even failing all of your OWL exams?"

Hermione gasped and shook her head nervously. "I've studied too hard for that to happen!"

"Well what about flying? I've herad you're afraid of flying."

"I am not!" she insisted. "There is a fundamental difference between fear and reservation! I'm not scared, I just simply limit myself from jumping on a broom and plumeting to my death!"

George eyed her with a smirk. "Sounds like you're just plain scared."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "There's nothing you can do that would scare me," she promised haughtily.

"Hmmm, if you say so," he replied before leaning toward her and kissing her firmly on the lips.

Hermione immediately reacted to him, her hands shaking slightly as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Yes, he was right; she was definitely afraid of this! Her limited experience with snogging played a small role in her fear, but she was mostly scared by the crush on him that she'd been harbouring for almost a year. She was scared, but she wasn't ready for it to end.

He kissed her sweetly, and she gasped as George's lips conveyed feelings she never knew he had. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it over the noises of screams and laughter coming from the Shrieking Shack. Before she knew what she was doing, she kissed him back.

As he deepened their kiss and slid his arms more tightly around her, she responded by sliding her tongue along his lips, earning a groan from him. They snogged for awhile, earning a few catcalls and whistles from other students.

George released her lips, saying, "Now, was that so scary?"

"Terrifying," she answered with a smile, pulling him close for another kiss.

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_Thanks for reading! Happy Halloween :) Don't forget to review!_


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